Barriers
by gairoid
Summary: AU. Tsuzuki is a telepath. Or a psychopath? Short chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: In Which We Smell Not

He walked on, doggedly. They had _shot_ at him, knowing it wouldn't kill him, but still, it _hurt_. And it was, as they knew it would, slowing him down. He thumbed at an approaching car.

In twenty-eight years, he had never been out of the facility before, but sometimes, it almost seemed he must have lived life outside. It had been a guilty escape for him to drift through the minds of the staff, vicariously experiencing enough of their lives that he knew for instance, about guns, and about how to hitch a ride.

The car slowed and stopped.

Ha! The thumbing thing worked.

He climbed in, and sank thankfully into the backseat.

"Where are you headed?" The driver was a bespectacled man of stern countenance, who froze suddenly when he caught a whiff of blood. The blonde kid in the front passenger seat also wrinkled his nose and whirled to face him.

_Please please please ignore it, it's nothing, nothing!_

His would-be driver fidgeted at his glasses, brows furrowing at an itch in the back of his mind. "Where are you headed?" he asked again, and frowned at the déjà vu, unaware that he _had_ in fact already asked that question.

"Anywhere." _Away._

It was a silly answer, but he was too exhausted to think. And thankfully, all it elicited was a raised eyebrow followed by a shrug and a nod.

The teen however stared at him a moment longer. Tsuzuki smiled at him nervously, and drew his stolen coat more securely around himself, banking on the dark of the coat, and the dark of the night, to hide the spreading stains.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: In Which We Wake Not

The car revved up again.

Heavy lids closed, hiding what Hisoka could have sworn were _violet_ eyes. "Thank you."

Hisoka snorted cynically at the amount of gratitude he heard in the weary voice. His father picked up hitch-hikers not so much out of kindness as from a manic sense of economy. They'd be car-pooling everyday if they actually had neighbours within a few miles...

That aside, there was something strange about their passenger. But he couldn't put his finger on it. He seemed harmless enough though. His face had a child-like quality to it in sleep. He was wearing a rumpled suit and overcoat. A salesman? He seemed to lack the guile. But that might explain why his clothes were too loose: A _lousy_ salesman. Hisoka smirked inwardly. Probably his car had broken down. Unlucky to have happened in these godforsaken parts. They were bordered in by dense forest on either side, only broken here and there by plantations of almost equal wildness. Civilization was miles away, and even phone signals were unpredictable.

Not to mention radio signals. He grimaced at the burst of static. His father had turned on the news, precisely at seven, as always.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: In Which We Wake

"--brutally slaughtered eleven men in his break-- --amato Asylum-- --believed to be wounded by police-- --rrently unarmed-- --repeat-- --fitting this descript-- --six-fee-- --"

There was a long burst of static there, but father and son had heard the description of their passenger the first time.

In the rearview mirror, the fugitive slept on, unawares.

"--billionaire recluse offering-- --ousand on any information-- --ive hundred thousand-- --bring in-- --chopath-- --killed his-- --nephew--"

Father and son stared at each other.

Acuity of awareness overcame Tsuzuki's prior suggestion that they ignore their olfactory senses. They could both smell the blood again. His? Or his victims?

"-- of Tsuzuki Asato--"

Tatsumi had just begun to calculate the distance to their precinct station, insidiously speeding up the car, when half a million dollars suddenly yanked open the door and jumped out.

Tatsumi brought the car to a screeching halt. And Hisoka – with an impulse born part from desire for the fiscal solution to all their medical bills, part indignation that they had unwittingly aided a criminally insane _murderer_, and part disbelief that _that_ bedraggled specimen could do him or _anyone_ much harm unless they lay down and _let _him – leaped out after the runaway.

Note:

Mine thanks to reviewers. Apologies for brevity. One thinks, and thus writes, in fragments…


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Which Is Far Too Full of Blood

It was such a stupid thing to have happened.

There had been a sickening thud. And Hisoka had been thrown flying back against the still open car door, breaking open his face against the shattering window before sliding to the ground in a heap.

The horrified driver had stopped, run out of her car, babbling, babbling, it wasn't her fault, she'd come round the bend, and the boy had just appeared, and she couldn't stop in time, she _had_ been speeding, but it was always a quiet road, and it wasn't her fault, babbling, babbling…

Strangely cool, Tatsumi ignored her, checking on Hisoka's breathing, his pulse, dialled emergency, and was not surprised to find there was no signal. Tatsumi was a rational man. And rationally, he knew his son had been impetuous, foolish. But Tsuzuki Asato _would_ pay for this. And the lady too perhaps.

But first things first.

He judged the head wound to be worst. He ripped off his tie, folded it up, and held it against the bleeding. A small wet groan came from his boy. He was lying at a horrible angle. Tatsumi did not dare to move him. The woman was still blubbering. He snapped at her, commanding, and she drove off for help, still hysterical.

And somewhere beneath the calm exterior, a father screamed soundlessly in fear and denial…

Note: Thanks verily to the Angel of the Eclipse for the kind words and pointer about the log-in reviews. I did not know the setting was such. I think I've fixed it. Does that mean I'll get more reviews now? )


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: In Which Is Soundless Fear and Fury

_No, it wasn't supposed to _be _like this!_

As in a dream, Tsuzuki found himself walking back toward the fallen boy.

As he approached, the father stood up protectively over the boy, teeth showing, hands fisted.

Tsuzuki _stopped_ the older man, and knelt by the boy, in the father's frozen shadow. Tatsumi was struggling, straining hugely against him. It hurt. Tsuzuki sent him to sleep, though the furious father fought fearsomely against that as well, for a while, before falling like a log.

Tsuzuki grimaced as he caught him. He quickly lowered Tatsumi to the ground, focusing on the disaster he had wrought.

His thoughts flew in useless frightened circles as he stared at the boy.

_It's not supposed to be like this. It can't!_

He found himself summoning, _willing_ Suzaku to heal the boy. The phoenix heals. She could do it. It didn't matter that she was just a figment of his imagination. He _needed_ his nee-san to fix this.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: In Which One Mends

Tsuzuki's body was having a _most_ difficult time of it.

Everything has its limits. In the first place, it had been having trouble trying to knit itself back together, when it was still riddled with bullets. It was just about holding off shock, while furiously trying to build back all the blood he was losing...

And then he _redirected_ all his resources.

The dam, with nothing left to hold it together, quite naturally burst, and his body rapidly started to decompensate…

But no one had told Tsuzuki that.

The boy was bloodied but whole. Tsuzuki did not try to think about how his _make-belief_ nee-san could do it. After all, he usually tried his hardest to forget that his family was make-belief at all. Vaguely, he stood up, and stumbled into the night forest, wanting only to lie low and lie _down_ for while. He was so tired…

Note: Er, in case anyone noticed, then I apologize for the relatively long hiatus. Things have been hectic, and also, let's face it, I am fueled by reviews… which have been scarce… sniff… I'll take anything! Good, bad, ugly…


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: In Which Much Is Hidden

Tatsumi found himself dreamily driving home with Hisoka as per usual. Except that _dreamy_ was not a usual state for him. Regardless, the next few minutes would find them safely home.

Meanwhile, an ambulance staff, standing about on a desolate and decidedly empty stretch of road, badgered by a bewildered woman, was half-heartedly calling in distant hospitals and clinics in a farfetched inquiry as to whether a bad RTA – a road traffic accident victim – had been brought in.

They finally had to conclude that the boy had either expired and been brought away by the father, or that the woman had been hallucinating.

The woman knew better. And even in her hysteria, she had recognized the dangerous glint behind those academic glasses. If the boy had died…

But with no vehicle or body to mark, they were not in fact on the actual site, and never saw the dark patch of blood drying on the road half a mile away.

The unfortunate woman would be scanning the obituaries for many weeks hence…

Note: Heh heh. Sorry. Rather empty sort of chapter, isn't it? But will follow up soon. Unless life gets in the way again... As for my chronic brevity, I'm afraid I can't do anything about it... I do think in fragments... But hopefully will produce longer chapters as the pace picks up...


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: In Which Is Much Horror

Tsuzuki's suggestions could only hold so long.

Having stepped through the door, father and son seemed to fall into a forgotten nightmare, standing suddenly aghast at the _blood _on them.

Most of it was on Hisoka… on his face… his hair was matted with it… Tatsumi's hands were caked with it, and as he had unconsciously put on his sodden tie again in the car, his suit too was smeared with red…

Raw nerves frayed further as a window slammed shut. A wind was kicking up.

Tatsumi gave the protesting Hisoka a quick and thorough pat down, assuring himself that the teen was unhurt. He then gingerly loosened his tie, wondering about lodging a police report. But what would they be reporting? The gory ruin of what had been perfectly serviceable clothing?

Neither could remember _how_ they came to be so bloodied.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: In Which We Remember

Hisoka scrubbed furiously at the dried blood – it was all over him! He had burned their ruined clothes, thinking madly of witchcraft and voodoo and such nonsense. Not an easy task, building that fire outside, as a wind had been building. A cold wind. Cold. He seemed to remember the sensation of icy cold hands on him. He shivered.

He had the absurd notion that it was all _his_ blood, that he should be lying in a hospital somewhere, or quite possibly, simply quite dead. He ran a hand through his hair… Ugh! His hair! He dumped more water on his head, and as bloody bath water ran in rivulets down his face, he was quite suddenly overpowered by the stench of blood.

And just like that, like a wave breaking, he _remembered_.

Tsuzuki's doctors might have told him a few things. Such as, that the olfactory centre is right next to the limbic system, and the hippocampus. And so, the sense of smell is linked to emotion, and to memory, on a deep, primal level. But it probably would not have made a difference to him even if he could have understood its significance. He had not had the strength to put a very strong suggestion to them. He had not the experience to make it last. And he had not anything left with which to get any further away.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: In Which We Brood

Tatsumi could not order his memories of the day. It was most… unsettling.

He brooded. The wind was howling in seeming sympathy, and he could hear thunder in the distance. Perfect ambience for horror. He snorted.

A shadow fell across him.

He looked up to see Hisoka, hair still dripping wet, expression unreadable, uttering a name.

"Tzusuki Asato."

And that was all it took to break the thin spell.

Tatsumi stared at his son.

He pushed up his glasses.

The crazy fugitive.

He had made them forget…

How could he ever forget Hisoka thrown like a rag doll, lying broken, bleeding…

Note: There. Changed rating. Thanks, saroberos. Just shows how desensitised this author has become. So used to mass media graphic sex and violence, that one didn't think much of the (comparatively) little in here so far. Still, the rating will probably go up even further as this thing progresses… be warned!


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: In Which We Feel

"He _healed_ me." Hisoka was wide-eyed, agitated. "We've got to go help him!"

Tatsumi blinked. Healed him? Was it possible? What manner of thing was he? He had _immobilized_ him, just like that, and then rendered him unconscious, just with a _look_. A dangerous man… if he was a man. "I don't think he needs any help."

"You don't understand! He's hurt! He was already hurt! And then he _drained_ himself to heal me! I could _feel_ him!" He stopped shouting. "I- I think I can still feel him… It was too much… he… I think he's dying…"

Tatsumi found himself following his son to the door. He did not understand, and was bristling with wariness. But he could not refuse a frantic Hisoka. He grabbed his car keys.

That… man… was surely miles away by now.

It would likely just be a wild goose chase.

A wet one.

For the storm had started in earnest.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: In Which One is Found

They found him just a few feet into the woods.

Tatsumi was, in a word, disturbed. Hisoka had led them unerringly through the storm. He had said he could _feel_ the man… And it would seem he could indeed.

Visibility was actually better in the forest. Though the canopy cut off what little natural night light there was, it also kept the rain from beating down on them in blinding sheets. And his flashlight sufficed for the rest, picking out their quarry from the mass of dark forest shadows at which Hisoka was pointing.

The lunatic seemed to have laid himself down to sleep on the forest floor, with a tree root for his pillow, hands clasped comfortably over his abdomen, quite unmindful of the mud.

They both instinctively slowed down their approach.

But…

Heart-stopping moment, the sudden snap-open of unnatural eyes. Light reflecting off the dilating pupils...

"Careful!" Tatsumi barked to Hisoka.

Like a deer caught in the headlights.

Tatsumi, who might otherwise have softened then, was instead somehow peeved at the fugitive. Tatsumi _never_ jumped at shadows, and was thoroughly disgusted at being rattled by such _frightened_ eyes.

Still. Appearances were probably deceiving. This man was obviously a powerful hypnotist or some such… And he was like a cornered animal now. A known psychopathic killer several times over. Cornered. He acutely regretted bringing Hisoka here.

The trouble was… he had not actually expected them to _find_ him…

But he could now see that the man _was_ hurt. He was obviously unable to get up, and some or most of the mud on him was probably blood…

And if he really _had_ healed Hisoka…

There were obligations…

Tatsumi let his hand fall away from Hisoka, but stayed slightly ahead of him, putting himself between his son and the fugitive.

Note: Ah, the computer has finally decided to let me update! Someone please tell me: am I at all writing in keeping with their characters?


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: The First Barrier

Tatsumi kept his flashlight pointed low, careful not to shine it directly at him after that. Hisoka too had his hands out, open, non-threatening. They moved slowly, speaking reassurances.

Reassurances that fell on deaf ears. Desperation was in every line of his body. He had managed to back up, propping himself against his tree. But that was as far as he could go. One hand clutching convulsively at his abdomen, the other scrabbling feebly at the tree behind him, trying in vain to push himself to his feet.

He finally seemed to give up, and sank back down, panting painfully, _staring_ at them, the whole while.

Staring at them, and _through_ them. Seeing and yet unseeing…

They ran into it about three meters away from the tree.

It was an invisible force field of some kind.

Waving his flashlight around, Tatsumi could see the rain bouncing off it in a full radius around the tree. He was confounded.

And fascinated despite himself.

He probed at the living barrier. For that was how it felt to him. Alive. He tried shoving at it. It resisted him. He couldn't push any more than the ends of his fingers in. It was like trying to push through solidified air. Or trying to fight eternal motion captured in still. His fingers tingled. Magnetic forces? Compressed air? Hypnosis? How was he _doing_ it?

Note: Sorry, Saphira112. Angry, never. Apolegetically recalcitrant, yes... I know, still too short, but I'm in some ways an obsessive writer. I obsess about every single sentence. If I were to try for normal-length chapters, I'd probably update, say... once a year? It did not cross my mind though, that lack of details would be a problem... I'd kinda thought that _because_ this was fanfiction, readers would already know all the characters, thus eliminating the need to introduce them all... Comments, anyone? By the way, believe it or not, I _have_ read/seen all the manga/anime...So if anyone thinks anything _is_ out of character, please do tell!


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